Pyrrha's Fall
by yeoldroosterteeth
Summary: Pyrrha isn't dead she's just a little different now. I honestly don't know what I did this, tell me what you think!
1. Chapter 1

Cold… cold was all she felt, an arrow had burned into her soul, taking her heart with it. "I'm not dead?" she was almost disappointed, she had fought and lost, she had earned a warrior's death. "Why? Why am I not… dead?" she gasped, startling herself her own words clawing at her throat, forcing reality to sink in. She took in the world around her, trying to understand where she was, but she didn't know. Everything was so foreign, so primal. Surrounded by jagged rock and broken crystal she started to panic internally, reaching for Milo, she prepared to fight whatever this alien world had. "oh…" she remembered, her trusted weapon was gone, shattered. For the first time in a very long time, Pyrrha had no idea what to do. Worst of all, she took comfort in the feeling. She finally felt normal, scared, but normal…. so there she stood cold, alone, and afraid, not knowing what to expect. She held her hands close to her chest, feeling the wounds of her final battle. "I should be dead" she whispered, shivering as she ran her fingers across her chest.

"How does it feel?" a cool female voice flowed, "knowing all your fighting, all your struggle, all your promise. It did nothing to stop me." the voice seemed to emanate from every corner with determined forceful omnipotence. A silence filled the air as the voice waited. "Answer me" the voice demanded, shaking Pyrrha to her very core, she stood frozen covering her wounds. Another pause, the voice was waiting for her…

"I feel… scared" she said, hearing her own voice seemed to make her feel stronger

"Fear is for the weak, you would not be here if you were weak. Give me a true answer, tell me how it feels knowing everything you've worked for has been taken and the world has moved past you in an instant." with the crushing force of an ocean, the voice stated.

"But that is the truth! I feel scared, and it feels good! I don't care if that makes me weak, Ive been strong before and look where that got me!" Pyrrha shouted to the sky, an outburst like that was unlike her but she was done being mild. After all, it had put her on a martyr's path.

"Scared, and alone as well? After all your friends were the ones who let you die"

And the mention of friends Pyrrha felt what was left of her heart tear. "My friends…." she dropped to her knees and choking back tears as she couldn't help but think of their grief. Images of their faces flashing before her until she finally reached. Her eyes widened as she saw "Jaune", his name escaping from her lips as she cried.

"I can save him" the omnipotent voice suddenly became a whisper in Pyrrha's ear, panicked she flipped around crawling rapidly away, the warm feeling of fear overtaking her again. Pupils widening she stared at the Witch who had appeared over her shoulder. Her throat clamped shut nothing escaping but the weak dry desperate gasps of air. "Hmm" The beautiful form smirked, as gorgeous as her soothing voice, yet she was inhuman to the point almost being a monster. Pyrrha couldn't understand that this woman, her muscles locked, she no longer could crawl away as the fear paralyzed her. "That fear… I like it, doesn't it make you feel so alive? Almost like a hunger. Look at me, and be filled with fear. I am all you know, and you will call me Salem. Say it." the form smoothly closing the gap between them, enjoying watching the girl before her cower.

As fear looked her in the eye, Pyrrha saw what she had been reduced to and decided to fight it. "No! I refuse to be a pawn any longer!" reaching to strike the Witch, she was suddenly paralyzed again. This time is was not the fear that held her back, but portals screaming and shrieking as they swallowed her hands holding her arms extended. The portals were like eyes into another realm. A realm that has seized her very soul, attempting to consume what was left of her. It felt as though they were shredding her fingers of every speck of flesh and reforming them, colder this time, every second of it was pure agony.

"I will remake you in my image, you will bring life to the one you've loved and death to those who would stand in your way."

"NO! I CAN'T!" Pyrrha screamed, the pain was beginning to turn to hate.

Salem reached out grabbing Pyrrha by the face, her touch burned, its very presence marking her face. "You will" she said, taking a more commanding tone, "because you are mine. Say my name, do my bidding. And I will let you keep a single piece of what you once were."

The pain, the fear, the cold. All of it seemed to disappear as her mind thought of Jaune happy. "I-I… I'll do what you say." she gasped, through the hand gripping her jaw.

"Say my name" Salem smirked, wanting complete obedience.

Pyrrha found herself inspired to fight once more "No. You won't own me! I- _GAAAHHH_ ", her words were cut short by a new feeling of pain from inside her arms. Tendrils were under her skin racing up her body holding tight to every nerve they passed by, they clawed and ripped at muscle before they reached her chest and tore open her wound extending out in front of her face. She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth as the intrusive digits wriggled under her skin.

"You will either obey, or I will use you as a puppet." Salem demonstrated what she meant as the tendrils forced Pyrrha's body to contort and twist, causing her to scream in both terror and pain.

This went on for what seemed like hours, the Witch showing no mercy cherishing every whimper and screech she caused, tearing skin and severing tendons. Having no trouble finding bone-snapping poses for the former champion to strike, until finally…

"Salem" it came out as only a whisper, but it seemed to have been enough as Pyrrha felt the interments of torture exit, leaving her body crumpled and shattered. The portals remained, her agony had not ended.

Salem stepped back, "Good, and now you must be given the tools." With a subtle yet graceful gesture, the portals were commanded to do what they were created for. Slowly they progressed along Pyrrha's body, looking to meet in the middle. Every new centimeter was an unholy pain Pyrrha could not prepare for. As she knelt screaming and crying in the face of this unimaginable torture, Salem's eyes gleamed with purpose and a small amount of pleasure. As the portals finished their duty and dissipated Salem admired her handiwork, the pleasure in her eyes showing brighter than ever.

Trying to recover from the anguish she had been subjected to, Pyrrha came to realized she was different. She was afraid and cold, with a fierce hunger. Looking down at her apparently now naked body horrified, she saw that Salem had indeed remade her in the Witch's image. She had become a ghostly pale, black lines traced across her skin like veins as they glowed softly, even her red hair had been darkened to a blackish-red mixture. The shock of both the pain she had just experienced and the changes of her own form were too much as the warriors body gave out and she dropped fully to the floor. Laying, unable to move, the hunger and the cold and the fear stayed as the pain subsided. "What did you do to me?" she panted not rising from the dust.

"I did as I promised. Now you will do your part." Salem cooed contently, "and you will be given rather familiar tools for this task." Upon these words a series of portals brought forth the tools. A set of armor identical to Pyrrha's former armor, the gold replaced with red and the brown replaced by black, silver buttons in place of her usual, though her sash remained its defiant red. Her golden laurels were replaced by a set of silver, Salem said it was "a deserved change, as she had only earned a medal for almost." Akoúo came next, black as her armor detailed with silver. Last was Miló, the red remained, detailed in black with its now silver blade shining in the moonlight. "Take these and claim what you desire, they are a part of you, and will be forever."

With everything in place Pyrrha felt comfortable knowing she could never be the same, her hunger was her drive now, her fear gave her life. "I will claim what I have lost. Nothing will stand in my way or I will be destroyed."

With a smile the creature Salem gestured again to a portal screaming as though it were a demon, "Then go forth and take." she said as Pyrrha stepped inside.

This portal hurt less than the previous set, the rending of flesh was not as surprising. She heard the horrid shrieking and suddenly was dropped, sputtering and coughing from the air that was now burning her lungs, she was in a forest. A real forest, one she knew, she had returned to Remnant.

The jubilation in her mind was cut short by fierce growling around her. "Grimm." and as she faced her opponents gathering behind her, she noticed they didn't seem entirely hostile. Instead they seemed attracted to her fear, yet daring not to attack. Then a realization occurred, she had become one of them… she no longer had her soul. She expected to feel some sort of anguish over this but instead she just felt a hunger. As she looked the nearest Grimm in the eye she smirked, she felt a solution to her hunger.

Utilizing her new rendition of an old friend Miló she sliced her curious new friend in half. The sensation of killing felt better than she anticipated, in fact, it made her smile. And as the remaining Grimm turned to flee she propelled herself at them closing the gap faster than she ever had before, maybe "even faster than Ruby" she thought. As she let her spear dive twist and spin she began to laugh, she hadn't had this much fun in a long time. The more she killed the more euphoric she felt, almost if it were an addiction she'd finally succumbed to. Soon she had dispatched all but one, but she no longer felt hungry, so she let one live. "Go, tell the others." she laughed.

Such an unnatural display shook something in Pyrrha. "I enjoyed that, I should not have enjoyed that!" The wild smile replacing itself with doubt and a horrible guilt. But as she began to breakdown her hunger returned, as did her purpose, a hunger she could feel in her entire being. A hunger that required blood. It kept her focused, it made her want more. She felt Grimm would no longer satisfy her hunger for more than a few seconds… she needed to find Jaune, he would fill the void. So she began her hunt.


	2. Chapter 2

A cool breeze shifted leaves and breathed life into the woods, moving as calm and steady as the warriors along the trial. RNJR moved silent and constant through the woods, determined to never stop moving forward.

"Jaune…. hey Jaune! Are you okay?", an overly chipper voice finally registering in his head. Nora had been trying to get his attention for some time now.

"Yeah… I- its… nothing. I'm fine" He had become more somber and distant in the weeks since Beacon. Drifting off in his own head, thinking on what ifs… he could've done better, if he had been faster, if he had been stronger, if he had been the hero. But you cant change the past, no matter how much it hurts. Jaune looked towards his team realizing he had drifted off again, as his eyes scanned from worried face to worried face her half expected to see a soft smile lost in red hair.

"We know you're hurting we all are, but please Jaune, please you have to talk to us." Ruby pleaded with her friend, sadness setting in as their eyes met.

"Yeah! We're a team and if you cant talk to your team, well thats just silly!" Nora started with her usual jubilance but seemed to lose herself in the mutual pain.

"Jaune communication… its part of any good team, listen you can always come to me if you need anything…" Ren seemed the only one able to maintain his composure as he looked Jaune in the eyes.

So there they all stood waiting for Jaune to speak, to blink, to breathe, to give them something at least. After a few horrible seconds he finally broke, "I never asked for this team, I never wanted to be on this team. I know you guys are trying, but I-I'm just not ready… to talk. Let's just keep moving."

"Can you guys think of any way to break Jaune out of this?" Ruby whispered to the others, looking over her shoulders as Jaune stayed a few paces behind staring into the woods.

"OOooo maybe a nice big Ursa will come along!" Nora offered, trying to stay quiet , at least by her standards.

"Nora dont make jokes, but combat might bring him out of this slump, at least temporarily." Ren

Ruby thought on it for a moment, "I guess it would make him focus a little, only problem is… we haven't seen a Grimm since we started traveling. That's… kinda weird right?"

"They could all be at flooding the city." Ren said, wondering why this hadn't registered with him earlier.

"Maybe they're all off grouping up, planning a surprise attack!" Nora said, doing her best imitation of Professor Oobleck.

"Hold on…" Ruby looked around frantically, "I think we lost Jaune!" as panic set in she began semblance dashing around trying to find an indication of where the blonde had wandered to.

Pyrrha found herself enraptured by the joy of in the woods, everything in her way, was hers to kill. The hunger inside her seemed to eat away at her insides, but the pain is what drove her. She cherished every second, every kill, everything she fought against before was now an avenue to euphoria.

She had spent just a few days in the woods searching for some hint at her prize and where he would be, it seemed they had kept moving through everything. Pyrrha would still be able to catch them easily, and then a thought occurred… "Pain", she let the filthy feeling linger. "I'm going to hurt him, in all the possible ways I can imagine." she said to herself, breath catching as she traced her hand across her scar, she loved it now. She would trace it as she planned her tortures, it made her feel… unclean, to have such a flaw so close.

How would she go about this… dismemberment? no too quick, exposure? hmm, no she was too hungry for that. Kill his friends? maybe… Impalement sounds nicer. She could make him fall in love…. that might take longer than the exposure. "I'll just have to get him and see what comes to mind." she said chuckling softly.

Continuing her hunt with a little more vigor as she pictured his soft kind face twisting in pain, she realized she was barely the person she used to be. It felt good to no longer have to be perfect, to take what she wanted, to kill when she felt. Some would call her corrupted, Pyrrha felt it was a rebirth. Washed away the pressures of old replaced with hunger and fear and instinct, pleasure finally coming with the pain. She set off looking along the trial her friends had left, taking note of how they liked to stick together, except there were prints that seemed to fall off pace. "Jaune." she breathed, with hunger on her lips. The closer she got the more hungry she felt, fear and cold overtaken by the hot thrill of anticipation.

As she closed the gap she thought on playing a game, after all, he thought her dead and gone. Why not toy with that, a shimmer here a silhouette in the distance, a giggle, a whisper. Not all torture needed to be physical after all, and the tears could taste ever sweeter if she caused them.

Jaune felt more comfortable staying a few paces behind, he knew how much the others talked about him, he didn't want to be in earshot of what they said. Plus they didn't really need him anyways, everything would probably move quicker if they didn't have to drag around a 4th body. As they walked he looked off into the forest and contemplated just… wandering off. They'd miss him but at least if he was gone he wouldn't let anyone else down.

Jaune's eyes based into the forest, "Just leave and dont look ba-." His heart pounded and his body went cold. He figured his grief had reached a new level, he was convinced he just saw a flash of Pyrrha, she looked different, but then again it didn't matter because it wasn't real. He snapped his head back towards his friends but they were too busy watching Nora pretend to drink coffee to have noticed anything.

He turned back to the woods and could see a pair of brilliant green eyes glowing in the shadows, his throat closed and his hands trembled as he slowly and quietly slipped among the trees reaching towards those painfully soft, familiar eyes. They seemed to be moving back as he moved forward, entranced by hope and locked in by fear he pushed forward farther and farther away from the group.

A faint "JAUUUUNNNEE" echoed throughout the trees breaking his trance as his head wheeled toward the source, but he was too deep, he couldn't find any sign of his friends or anything to give him bearing. He turned back towards the eyes… but they had vanished, panic set in as Jaune turned around to at least see if he could retrace his steps.

"Hello, again."


End file.
